Systems and methods for warehouse order sortation

ABSTRACT

Warehouse automation and methods of automatically sorting and sequencing items can be implemented to streamline and expedite order fulfillment and store replenishment processes in a cost-effective manner. Some embodiments described herein include sorting items to a truck-level, inducting items for a first truck into a first portion of a mobile robot field, accumulating the items in the first portion of the mobile robot field until all the items for a first cart of the first truck are in the first portion, moving, by one or more mobile robots, all of the items for the first cart in a sequence that corresponds to a store aisle layout, loading the first cart in the sequence, and moving the loaded first cart into the first truck, which can be accomplished in a particular sequence with other carts for the first truck.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 62/887,270, filed Aug. 15, 2019. The disclosure of the priorapplication is considered part of (and is incorporated by reference in)the disclosure of this application.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This document relates to systems and methods for enhancing efficienciesof order fulfillment processes. For example, this document relates towarehouse automation and methods of automatically sorting and sequencingitems to streamline order fulfillment and store replenishment processes.

BACKGROUND

The order fulfillment process refers to all the steps that companiestake from the moment they receive a customer order (which can include anorder that is wholly or partly internal to the company, such as a storereplenishment order) to the moment that the items are landed incustomers' hands. Such steps can include, for example: the order is sentto the warehouse; order sortation (e.g., a worker goes into thewarehouse, finds the items in the order, and picks the items off theshelf); the order is packed for shipping; and the order is shipped.

The use of warehouse automation is one way to increase the efficiency ofan order fulfillment process. The goal of automation is to cut outmanual steps of the order fulfillment process. Automation technology isuseful for at least two reasons: to help reduce the occurrences of humanerror and to make processes more efficient. Two-day deliveries arecurrently standard, and customers are often willing to pay extra forsame-day or next-day deliveries. Highly efficient warehousing, ordersortation, and shipping processes are on the frontline of meeting thishigh level of customer expectations.

SUMMARY

This document describes systems and methods for enhancing efficienciesof order fulfillment processes. For example, this document describeswarehouse automation and methods of automatically sorting and sequencingitems to streamline and expedite order fulfillment and storereplenishment processes in a cost-effective manner. For example, in someembodiments the systems and methods described herein include: (i)sorting items to a truck-level, (ii) inducting items for a first truckinto a first portion of a mobile robot field, and (iii) accumulating theitems in the first portion of the mobile robot field until all the itemsfor a first cart (or other type of transport vessel, or other type ofsub-set) of the first truck are in the first portion of the mobile robotfield. Then, using one or more mobile robots, moving all of the itemsdesignated for the first cart in a sequence that corresponds to a storeaisle layout. The items can be loaded manually (or in an automatedmanner) into particular locations in the first cart in correspondencewith the sequence. Then, the loaded first cart can be moved into thefirst truck (which can be, at least in some embodiments, performed in aparticular sequence with other carts for the first truck to make storereplenishment efficient).

In one aspect, this disclosure is directed to an automated method forsorting saleable items into a store aisle-ready arrangement. In someembodiments, the method includes: (i) inducting a plurality of itemsinto a first mobile robot field; (ii) assigning each of the items to aparticular location of a particular store-friendly transport vessel,wherein the particular location assignments of the items are based onhow the items will be arranged at a store to which the items aredestined; (iii) determining whether all of the items assigned to a firststore-friendly transport vessel are in the first mobile robot field; and(iv) in response to determining that all of the items assigned to thefirst store-friendly transport vessel are in the first mobile robotfield, causing one or more mobile robots to transport, from the firstmobile robot field to a station for loading by a robot or by a humanoperator the first store-friendly transport vessel, all of the itemsassigned to the first store-friendly transport vessel in a sequence thatcorresponds to the particular location assignments of the items.

Such a method may optionally include one or more of the followingfeatures. In some embodiments, the method also includes: assigning aplurality of store-friendly transport vessels to a particularsemi-trailer; and determining a sequence for loading the plurality ofstore-friendly transport vessels into the particular semi-trailer basedon how the plurality of items in the plurality of store-friendlytransport vessels will be arranged at a store to which the items aredestined. In particular embodiments, the method also includesdetermining a sequence for inducting the plurality of items into thefirst mobile robot field based on the particular location assignments ofthe items in the particular store-friendly transport vessel and thesequence for loading the plurality of store-friendly transport vesselsinto the particular semi-trailer. The first mobile robot field maycomprise two or more portions. A mobile robot may be assigned to aparticular portion of the first mobile robot field. The plurality ofitems may be inducted into the first mobile robot field by a conveyor ofthe warehouse that is reconfigured to feed into a particular portion ofthe first mobile robot field. In some embodiments, all of the itemsassigned to the first store-friendly transport vessel are located in afirst portion of the first mobile robot field and all of the itemsassigned to a second store-friendly transport vessel are located in asecond portion of the first mobile robot field that differs from thefirst portion of the first mobile robot field. The method may alsoinclude: determining whether all of the items assigned to a secondstore-friendly transport vessel are in the first mobile robot field;and/or in response to determining that all of the items assigned to thesecond store-friendly transport vessel are in the first mobile robotfield, causing one or more mobile robots to transport, from the firstmobile robot field to a station for loading by a robot or by a humanoperator the second store-friendly transport vessel, all of the itemsassigned to the second store-friendly transport vessel in a sequencethat corresponds to the particular location assignments of the items. Insome embodiments, the sequence that corresponds to the particularlocation assignments of the items further corresponds to an order thatone or more shelves in a store aisle will be stocked. The sequence maycorrespond to the particular location assignments of the items and mayfurther correspond to at least one of a direction from left to right anda direction from right to left that the one or more shelves in the storeaisle will be stocked. In some embodiments, the warehouse comprises oneor more multi-level mobile robot fields. Causing one or more mobilerobots to transport all of the items assigned to the firststore-friendly transport vessel in a sequence that corresponds to theparticular location assignments of the items may further comprisetransporting all of the items assigned to the first store-friendlytransport vessel from the one or more multi-level mobile robot fields tothe station for loading. In some embodiments, the method also includesone or more of: (a) inducting the plurality of items into a secondmulti-level mobile robot field; (b) determining whether all of the itemsassigned to the first store-friendly transport vessel are in the secondelevated multi-level robot field; and (c) in response to determiningthat all of the items assigned to the first store-friendly transportvessel are in the second multi-level mobile robot field, causing one ormore mobile robots to transport, from the second multi-level mobilerobot field to a spiral conveyor, all of the items assigned to the firststore-friendly transport vessel in a sequence that corresponds to theparticular location assignments of the items.

In another aspect, this disclosure is directed to a system for sortingsaleable items into a store aisle-ready arrangement. The systemincludes: a first mobile robot field; a conveyor of a warehouse that isconfigured to feed items into the first mobile robot field; one or moremobile robots configured to perform tasks in the first mobile robotfield; and a control system. In some embodiments, the control system isconfigured to: induct a plurality of items into the first mobile robotfield; assign each of the items to a particular location of a particularstore-friendly transport vessel, wherein the particular locationassignments of the items are based on how the items will be arranged ata store to which the items are destined; determine whether all of theitems assigned to a first store-friendly transport vessel are in thefirst mobile robot field; and in response to determining that all of theitems assigned to the first store-friendly transport vessel are in thefirst mobile robot field, causing one or more mobile robots to transportfrom the first mobile robot field to a station for loading by a robot orby a human operator the first store-friendly transport vessel, all ofthe items assigned to the first store-friendly transport vessel in asequence that corresponds to the particular location assignments of theitems.

Such a system may optionally include one or more of the followingfeatures. The first mobile robot field may comprise two or moreportions. In some embodiments, a mobile robot is assigned to aparticular portion of the first mobile robot field. The first mobilerobot field may be a multilevel robot field.

In another aspect, this disclosure is directed to an automated methodfor sorting saleable items into a store aisle-ready arrangement. In someembodiments, the method includes: (a) assigning a plurality ofstore-friendly transport vessels to a particular semi-trailer; (b)determining a sequence for loading the plurality of store-friendlytransport vessels into the particular semi-trailer based on assigningeach of a plurality of items to a particular location of a particularstore-friendly transport vessel, wherein the particular locationassignments of the items are based on how the items will be arranged atthe store to which the items are destined; (c) inducting the pluralityof items into a first mobile robot field based on the particularlocation assignments of the items in the particular store-friendlytransport vehicle and the sequence for loading the plurality ofstore-friendly vessels into the particular semi-trailer; (d) determiningwhether all of the items assigned to a first store-friendly transportvessel to be loaded into the particular semi-trailer are in the firstmobile robot field; (e) in response to determining that all of the itemsassigned to the first store-friendly transport vessel to be loaded intothe particular semi-trailer are in the first mobile robot field, causingone or more mobile robots to transport, from the first mobile robotfield to a station for loading by a robot or by a human operator thefirst store-friendly transport vessel, all of the items assigned to thefirst store-friendly transport vessel in the sequence that correspondsto the particular location assignments of the items; and (f) in responseto determining that all of the items assigned to the firststore-friendly transport vessel are loaded into the first store-friendlytransport vessel in the sequence that corresponds to the particularlocation assignments of the items, loading the first store-friendlytransport vessel into the particular semi-trailer based on the sequencefor loading the plurality of store-friendly transport vessels into theparticular semi-trailer.

Such a method may optionally include one or more of the followingfeatures. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of store-friendlytransport vessels corresponds to an aisle in the store. The sequence forloading the plurality of store-friendly transport vessels into theparticular semi-trailer may further correspond to an order that eachaisle in the store will be stocked.

The systems, methods, and processes described herein may be used toprovide one or more of the following optional benefits. First, someembodiments provide an order fulfillment process that is more responsiveand agile so that orders can be shipped to internal and externalcustomers in a shorter timeframe than current processes. In particular,the automated systems, methods, and processes described herein add thepotential for using a substantial granularity of order sortationprocesses in comparison to conventional warehouse sorting systems,methods, and processes for outbound shipments. Adding the granular sortscan reduce delays and interferences in the warehouse, and/or inprocesses downstream of the warehouse (e.g., store replenishmentprocesses, and the like).

Second, some embodiments allow multiple types of orders to be processedand fulfilled using the same (or essentially the same) order fulfillmentprocess. For example, direct-to-customer shipments, store replenishmentorders, customer pick-up-at-store orders, forward deployment ofinventory shipments, inventory transfers, and the like can beadvantageously processed and fulfilled using essentially the samesystems, methods, and processes described herein. In particular, addingmore granular sorts can increase the warehouse's capability to sequenceitems for efficient store replenishment or other types of orders to beprocessed and fulfilled.

Third, the accuracy of order fulfillment processes can be enhanced byeliminating human errors by using the automated systems, methods, andprocesses described herein. For example, robots can be configured toaccurately transport items that are inducted into the mobile robot fielddescribed herein to designated loading stations, trucks, or otherlocations or assets in the warehouse. The items can be inducted frommultiple points into particular portions of the mobile robot field. Thiscan reduce labor costs associated with the order fulfillment processes.This can further increase efficiency of the warehouse as well asefficiency of the robots. As a result, fewer robots may be needed totransport items from the mobile robot field to designated locations inthe warehouse.

Fourth, warehouse space requirements can be reduced by using theautomated systems, methods, and processes described herein. For example,implementing and using the mobile robot field for order sortation andsequencing, as described herein, can be accomplished with minimalinterruptions to warehouse operations and/or downtime in outboundshipments. This is especially true since existing assets and/or systemsin the warehouse, such as sort lanes, conveyors, and first truck-levelsort systems, can be repurposed to feed into the mobile robot field asdescribed herein.

Fifth, the systems, methods and processes described herein canadvantageously improve and/or un-constrain upstream picking processesthat are performed using a wave picking methodology. Warehouse ordersare often released/processed in waves over time periods of hours,shifts, days, or volume and/or other constrained windows. The systems,methods and processes described herein enable improvements in thecontext of the overlap of pick waves, and can accommodate downstreamaccumulation, processing and sorting of inventory. Such improvements canprovide picking enhancements in terms of productivity and density oforder pick containers (order picker cages, pallets, carts, etc.).

Other features, aspects, and potential advantages will be apparent fromthe accompanying description and figures.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a highly-simplified schematic diagram of a basic orderfulfillment process.

FIG. 2 depicts an example truck-level order sortation system inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3 depicts an example store replenishment cart level order sortationand sequencing system in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example store replenishment cart level ordersortation and sequencing system in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 5 is another flowchart of an example store replenishment cart levelorder sortation and sequencing system in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 6 depicts another example store replenishment cart level ordersortation and sequencing system in accordance with some embodiments.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This document describes systems and methods for enhancing efficienciesof order fulfillment processes. For example, this document describes thedaily replenishment and movement of inventory generated from real-timedemand singles for in-store retail sales and/or direct-to-guest on-linesales fulfilled from a multi-echelon inventory-holding model at thecorrect unit of measure, using fast and easy material handling equipmentthat will create operational efficiency at every process step in thesupply chain. Said another way, this document describes warehouseautomation and methods of controlling material flow to streamline and toconsolidate different types of order fulfillment processes (which caninclude, for example, orders for direct shipments to consumers, ordersthat are wholly or partly internal to the company such as a storereplenishment orders, and/or other like order fulfillment processes).

FIG. 1 depicts an example order fulfillment process 100. The orderfulfillment process 100 may take place at a variety of different typesof facilities such as, but not limited to, flow centers, distributioncenters, warehouses, inventory storing locations, order fulfillmentcenters, receive centers, stores, cross-docking facilities, materialhandling facilities, and the like, and combinations thereof. In thisdisclosure, the term “flow center” (or simply “warehouse”) may be usedto refer to any and all such different types of facilities, andcombinations thereof. In some examples, the order fulfillment process100 takes place at a single facility. Alternatively, in some examplesexecution of the order fulfillment process 100 is distributed across twoor more facilities. A flow center as described herein can be a portionof a multi-echelon supply chain.

The flow of sellable items within the overall order fulfillment process100 is driven by demand for those sellable items from customers 110. Inthis disclosure, the term “customers” will be used to broadly refer to avariety of different entities such as, but not limited to, individualconsumers, retail stores (e.g., for stock replenishment), businesspartners, other flow centers, and the like.

Tangible orders 120 result from the demand for sellable items from thecustomers 110. An individual order 120 may be for one unit of a singlesellable item, for multiple units of a single sellable item, for two ormore different types of sellable items, for a case quantity, for apallet load, and the like, and any and all possible permutationsthereof. Whatever the order 120 includes, the goal of the orderfulfillment process 100 is to ship (preferably in a single shipment) allof the sellable items included in the orders 120 in a timely andaccurate manner. However, the scope of the order fulfillment process 100also includes partial shipments that do not include all of the itemsincluded in an order 120.

The orders 120 are entered into an order fulfillment control system 180(represented in FIG. 1 by the dashed-line boundary). In some examples,the order fulfillment control system 180 may be part of and/or maycomprise a business management system such as, but not limited to, anenterprise resource planning (ERP) system, a materials managementsystem, an inventory management system, a warehouse management system,one or more automation control systems, and the like, and combinationsthereof. Accordingly, the order fulfillment control system 180 (orsimply “control system 180”) can, in some cases, broadly encompassmultiple systems that can be situated locally, remotely, or situatedboth locally and remotely. The control system 180 can include hardware,software, user-interfaces, and so on. For example, the control system180 may include one or more computer systems, data storage devices,wired and/or wireless networks, control system software (e.g., programs,modules, drivers, etc.), user interfaces, scanners, communicationmodules, interfaces for control communications with robots, and thelike. Such scanners may include hand-held, mobile, and/or fixed readersthat can scan, receive, or otherwise detect marks or tags (e.g., barcodes, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, etc.) on individualsellable items or collections of sellable items (e.g., cases and totes)and communicate with a control station or stations of the control system180. The scanners may also be able to scan, receive, or otherwise detectthe marks or tags (e.g., bar codes, RFID tags, etc.) attached to orintegrated with conveyance receptacles such as inventory totes andboxes.

Still referring to FIG. 1, incoming shipments of items 140 arrive at theflow center. In some cases, the incoming shipments of items 140 areprocessed by receiving 144 (e.g., the performance of inspections,quantity confirmations/reconciliations, inventory/order control systemtransactions, etc.). Afterwards, the items enter into inventory 150 ofthe flow center as sellable units. In some cases, some incoming items godirectly from receiving 144 into inventory 150 (e.g., if the incomingitems were transferred in from an affiliated facility at which the itemswere already in the inventory system). The types and quantities of theincoming items 140 may be controlled to keep a desired stock level ofthe sellable units in the inventory 150 of the flow center. In somecases, the types and quantities of the incoming items 140 may be theresult of a proactive inventory transfer (e.g., “pushing” inventory), areactive inventory transfer (e.g., “pulling” inventory), and/or othersuch inventory management techniques.

The sellable units in inventory 150 can be located in various types ofstorage accommodations or transport vessels, such as racks, shelves,containers, vessels, carts, bins, totes, pallet lanes, and the like.Such storage accommodations or transport vessels can be individuallyidentified and tracked by the control system 180. That is, the controlsystem 180 can be used to keep track of the quantities in stock of thevarious sellable items in the inventory 150 and of the inventorylocation(s) of the various sellable items in the inventory 150. Thesellable items in the inventory 150 can be stored in various receptaclessuch as, but not limited to, boxes, totes, pallets, baskets, bins, bags,and the like.

Next, in the step of order sortation 160, the sellable item(s) includedin the customer order 120 are compiled in preparation for shipment tothe respective customer 110. To fulfill the customer orders 120, the oneor more items specified in each order may be retrieved, or picked, frominventory 150. Picked sellable items may be delivered or conveyed to oneor more areas in the flow center for sorting and assembling into one ormore outbound shipping containers for the fulfillment of a respectivecustomer order 120. Outbound shipping containers containing the orderedsellable items are then transported to customers 110 at the step ofshipping 170.

FIG. 1 and the foregoing description of the order fulfillment process100 has provided a high-level overview of the operations of a flowcenter. Next, in the following figures, order sortation systems andmethods will be described.

FIG. 2 depicts an example truck-level order sortation system 200 inaccordance with some embodiments described herein. While notspecifically depicted in FIG. 2, it should be understood that theoperations of the order sortation system 200 involve the use of an orderfulfillment control system (such as a warehouse management system, oneor more computerized automation/robotic control systems, and/or othersuch systems that can communicate and coordinate control activitiesbetween each other and across the overall order sortation system 200).Such an order fulfillment control system can be situated locally,remotely situated, or both locally situated and remotely.

From an overview standpoint, the order sortation system 200 includes oneor more inventory storage areas 210. The storage area(s) 210 can be anylocation in the warehouse where items that are ready to be dispatched totrucks (e.g., semi-trailers) for delivery to stores or other customersare temporarily stored. The storage area(s) 210 can include varioustypes of storage accommodations or transport vessels as previouslydiscussed in FIG. 1, such as racks, shelves, containers, vessels, carts,bins, totes, pallet lanes, and the like to temporarily store the boxesor other items.

When an item (e.g., box) is called for to be transported to a designatedtruck for outbound shipment, the item can be manually or automaticallyloaded onto a conveyor 220, or other type of item transportationsystem/technique. In some embodiments, the conveyor 220 can be elevatedto a particular height above the floor of the warehouse to allow forunobstructed movement of human workers and warehouse vehicles, such asforklifts, below the conveyor 220. In other embodiments, the conveyor220 can be placed on the floor of the warehouse rather than elevated. Inthe preferred embodiment, the conveyor 220 is in its existing, priorconfiguration in the warehouse. Keeping the existing conveyor 220,rather than purchasing a new conveyor, is advantageous to reduce costs,increase efficiency, and avoid downtime when reconfiguring the existingwarehouse system and its assets, such as the conveyor 220, to theimproved system described throughout in the following description.

The conveyor 220 can be generally horizontal but can also have inclines,declines, and/or tilt depending on the existing configuration of theconveyor 220 and needs of the warehouse facility. In some embodiments,the conveyor 220 (or mechanisms associated therewith) can be configuredto direct and/or push items off in one or more directions using knownprocesses. In some embodiments, the conveyor 220 continues downessentially an entire length of the warehouse or order sortation system200, such that the conveyor 220 has access to each sorting lane in thewarehouse. In particular embodiments, the conveyor 220 continues down acertain length that is not the entire length of the system 200. Theconveyor 220 can also be configured in any other way that isadvantageous to meet the needs of the warehouse and the warehouse'scustomers. The conveyor 220 can further have different widths dependingon the types of items it transports. In other embodiments, the conveyor220 can have a vacuum, suction-type feature and/or a textured belt thatholds a product on the surface of the belt whenever there are changes inelevation and/or speed of the conveyor 220. Other types of conveyorconfigurations known in the field can be implemented in the ordersortation system 200 depicted in FIG. 2.

In the example embodiment of FIG. 2, the conveyor 220 is elevated abovethe floor of the warehouse and has multiple connection and/or accesspoints that disperse items to one or more sorting lanes 230 (such as theexemplary sorting lanes 230A and 230N which are representative of theextensive number of sorting lanes 230). Each sorting lane 230 ends neara designated and/or associated truck loading zone 240 where an assignedor associated truck (e.g., semi-trailer) is located and waiting to beloaded. For example, in this embodiment, sorting lane 230A receivesitems from the conveyor 220 that are intended to ship out on a truckstationed at the truck loading zone 240A. Therefore, only items assignedto the truck in the truck loading zone 240A are inducted/transferredfrom the conveyor 220 onto the sorting lane 230A, to then be moved intothe truck/trailer at the truck loading zone 240A.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, there is generally no particular order orsequence that items are inducted onto sorting lanes 230 or packed intothe trucks at the truck loading zones 240. In other words, there isgenerally no item-level sequencing because items are not being inductedonto the sorting lanes 230 in a particular order (e.g., a sequencecorresponding to how the items will be unpacked, such as correspondingto a store aisle layout in the case of an aisle-ready shipment).

Although not depicted in FIG. 2, in some embodiments, one or more of thesorting lanes 230 can be replaced by one or more conveyors that end atthe truck loading zones 240. As a result, the main conveyor 220 caninduct items onto other conveyors that branch off it (as depicted). Inyet other embodiments, there may be a system of conveyors rather thanjust the single main conveyor 220. Items can be transported through thesystem of conveyors before being inducted onto a sorting lane associatedwith a truck loading zone. The system of conveyors may be advantageousin a warehouse facility that is larger in scale, has a multitude oftruck loading areas, and/or is not L-shaped.

In some embodiments, the sorting lanes 230 can end at loading stations(e.g., workstations), wherein each loading station is associated with aparticular truck loading zone 240. One or more human workers can beassigned to a particular loading station and tasked with moving itemsthat come off the associated sorting lane 230 into one or more carts orother type of transport vessel (e.g., as previously discussed inreference to FIG. 1), and load the carts/vessels into a truck/trailer atthe associated truck loading zone 240. In other embodiments, a robot canbe assigned to a particular loading station to carry out the tasks thatthe human operator(s) would perform.

The systems and methods described below in reference to FIGS. 3-6provide several enhancements to the truck-level order sortation system200.

FIG. 3 depicts an example store replenishment cart level order sortationand sequencing system 300 (or simply “system 300”). In other words, thesystem 300 is operable for sorting/sequencing items to the granularitynecessary for loading a store replenishment cart (or other type oftransport vessel) in a particular arrangement that coincides with alayout of a store aisle or aisles. Such an item-carrying cart cantherefore be referred to as an aisle-ready cart, because the cart isloaded with items in a particular arrangement that simplifies storeshelf replenishment, making for a highly efficient store shelfreplenishment process.

Similar to the truck-level order sortation system 200 depicted in FIG.2, this system 300 includes a storage area 310 where items aretemporarily stored until they are ready for shipment and moved onto amain conveyor 320. The conveyor 320 is shown elevated in its preexistingconfiguration. The conveyor 320 transports items as previously describedin FIG. 2. A sorting lane 330 branches off the main conveyor 320 andfeeds into a mobile robot field 340. One or more mobile robots can beconfigured to perform tasks in the mobile robot field 340.

Similar to FIG. 2, the system 300 can include a multitude of sortinglanes (such as a sorting lane 330) that branch off the main conveyor320. In the depicted embodiment, the sorting lane 330 may have initiallyfed into a particular truck loading zone (e.g., as described inreference to FIG. 2), but in the system 300 the sorting lane 330 isrepurposed or reconfigured to feed into a mobile robot field 340. Inother embodiments, the conveyor 320 can be reconfigured (e.g.,repurposed) to feed into the mobile robot field 340 and/or a particularportion of the mobile robot field 340.

The system 300 is advantageous because existing warehouse assets (e.g.,sorting lanes, conveyors, etc. as depicted in FIG. 2) can be repurposedor reconfigured, which decreases the costs of implementing the system300, increases efficiency, and ensures that there is essentially nodowntime or interruptions to the operations of the warehouse.Repurposing existing assets may be less expensive than buying andinstalling new assets to accommodate for the mobile robot field 340.With the resources saved by repurposing existing assets, the warehousefacility can choose to purchase or add additional robots to the mobilerobot field 340 or throughout the warehouse facility.

Moreover, some warehouse assets can be repurposed in batches, such thatsome sorting lanes continue to feed into particular pre-existing truckloading zones (e.g., as depicted in FIG. 2) while some sorting lanes arerepurposed to feed into the mobile robot field 340 (e.g., as depicted inFIG. 3). Consequently, the warehouse can, temporarily or on a long-termbasis, have a hybrid system in which some sorting lanes feed intoparticular truck loading zones and some sorting lanes feed into themobile robot field 340. This can be an advantageous scenarios because itensures the warehouse does not experience downtime while repurposing theexisting assets. Maintaining the warehouse with this hybrid layout mayalso be beneficial to fulfill the needs of the warehouse's customers.For example, to adequately ship items to a larger store, the mostefficient warehouse layout may include one or more sorting lanes thatfeed directly into one or more truck loading zones associated with thelarger store. Then, the remaining sorting lanes in the warehouse canfeed into the mobile robot field 340 such that items associated withsmaller stores and/or other customers are fed into the mobile robotfield 340 and then transported to loading stations. Various otherwarehouse layouts can be implemented depending on the particular needsof the warehouse and/or the warehouse's customers.

Still referring to FIG. 3, items are transferred from conveyor 320 toparticular sorting lanes in correspondence with the truck/trailer inwhich they are to be shipped. Once an item arrives at the end of asorting lane (e.g., the example sorting lane 330 which is locatedadjacent to a particular partial portion of the mobile robot field 340),in some embodiments a mobile robot from the mobile robot field 340 canautomatically pick up the item from the sorting lane 330 and move it toa location in the particular portion of the mobile robot field 340 fortemporary storage. In some embodiments, each mobile robot can beassigned to operate (e.g., pick up and transport items) within aparticular partial portion of the mobile robot field 340. Alternatively,in some embodiments the mobile robots can move and operate within theentirety of the mobile robot field 340. In some embodiments, an orderfulfillment control system (e.g., as discussed in reference to FIG. 1)in conjunction with a fleet management system can control the movementsand operations of each mobile robot in the mobile robot field 340.

Additional items that are intended for shipment via a particulartruck/trailer are continued to be transferred onto the conveyor 320 andthen to the corresponding sorting lane, such as the sorting lane 330.Once all items for a particular aisle-ready cart (or other sub-set ofitems) are located in the mobile robot field 340, one or more mobilerobots can then transport the individual types of items for theparticular aisle-ready cart to a loading station 350 (e.g.,workstation). The one or more mobile robots will transport the items tothe loading station 350 in a particular sequence (e.g., order). Theparticular sequence corresponds with how the aisle-ready cart is to beloaded (e.g., starting with the top shelf of the cart and then downwardto subsequently lower shelves, or any suitable manner), which in turncorresponds with the layout of the store shelves that the aisle-readycart will be used for (when the aisle-ready cart is taken into the storeto replenish the store shelves).

At the loading station 350, a human worker (or a robot) can readily loadthe items into the particular cart in the correct sequence and/orlocation in the cart because the items are delivered to the loadingstation 350 in the correct sequence. As a result, human error inappropriately loading the aisle-ready cart can be reduced, if not,removed altogether. Once the cart is filled as intended, it can betransported by a human operator or mobile robot to the particulartruck/trailer it is designated.

As previously mentioned, more than one sorting lane 350 can feed intothe mobile robot field 340. As more lanes feed into the mobile robotfield 340, items can be sorted to multiple trucks through more granulardownstream sorts and sequencing. In the exemplary system 300, no singlesorting lane is assigned to a particular truck. Rather, all the sortinglanes induct items that are associated with different trucks into themobile robot field 340. When many sorting lanes feed into the mobilerobot field 340, items can be evenly distributed in the mobile robotfield 340 such that robot efficiency also increases.

For example, an item that is dropped off near a particular portion ofthe mobile robot field 340 can be picked up and moved within thatparticular portion by a mobile robot that is currently closest to theitem and/or assigned to that particular portion of the mobile robotfield 340. Therefore, in such a case a mobile robot would not have totraverse (e.g., move through, navigate) large areas of the mobile robotfield 340 to pick up and move an item inducted into the mobile robotfield 340 from one of the sorting lanes. Instead, if all the mobilerobots are assigned to work in designated, partial portions of themobile robot field 340, then robot efficiency can increase and less timewould be required to transport items around the mobile robot field 340,and to the loading stations 350. Assigning mobile robots to particularportions in the mobile robot field 340 can also reduce the risk ofcollision, traffic jams, or any other similar delays in warehouseefficiency. Moreover, this can lead to the use of fewer robots in thewarehouse, which has the added benefit of decreasing costs of operation.

Whereas existing systems may provide truck-centric sorting (e.g., referto FIG. 2), the system 300 has cart-centric sorting (or other types ofitem sub-sets), which allows for more granular downstream sorts in anytype of sorting system. Repurposing existing sorting lanes to feed intothe mobile robot field 340 can increase efficiency by adding thecapability to perform additional sorting and sequencing processes to theoverall system 300. The mobile robot field 340 can increase the numberof sorts and/or sequencing performed, which can in turn lead to fillingup more trucks with carts and further ensuring the items on each cartand the carts in each truck are sequenced appropriately to meet thedownstream customer's needs (e.g., in any particular store aisle layoutarrangement).

Sequencing is possible in the system 300 because the mobile robot field340 creates an item storage buffer. In other words, items for aparticular cart associated with a truck are temporarily stored in themobile robot field 340 until all the items for the particular cart arelocated in the mobile robot field 340. Once all the items for theparticular cart are in the mobile robot field 340, those items can besequenced by the order fulfillment control system (e.g., refer to FIG.1). Then, a fleet management system in communication with the orderfulfillment system can control one or more mobile robots in the mobilerobot field 340 to transport the items in the correct sequence to theloading station 350 to then be loaded into the particular, associatedaisle-ready cart. The items in the particular cart can be sequenced tocorrespond to a store aisle layout, as discussed in more detail below.

The aisle-ready carts (or storage-friendly transport vessels) caninclude any type of device, such as a cart, bin, or multiple bins on acart, which has wheels, no wheels, or is transportable around a facilityby other means. For example, where the aisle-ready transport vessel haswheels, such as a cart, it can be wheeled into a store, and morespecifically, wheeled into a particular aisle in the store where itemsthat were sorted and sequenced into the aisle-ready cart can now beconveniently stocked in the particular aisle/shelves.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example store replenishment cart level ordersortation and sequencing process 400 in accordance with someembodiments. In some embodiments, the process 400 can be implementedusing the system 300 described in reference to FIG. 3.

First, in step 410, a plurality of items (e.g., boxes, totes, etc.) aresorted to a truck-level. In some embodiments (such as described above inreference to FIG. 3), when the items are sorted to the truck-level theyare inducted onto a main conveyor which has multiple sorting lanesbranching off, from where the items are inducted into a mobile robotfield. Sorting to the truck-level can include assigning each of theitems to a particular location of a particular cart (e.g.,store-friendly transport vessel), wherein the particular locationassignments of the items are based on how the items will be arranged ata store to which the items are destined. Sorting to the truck-level canfurther include determining, by the order fulfillment control systemdescribed throughout this disclosure, which particular portion of themobile robot field all items for a particular truck (e.g., semi-trailer)should be sent to. For example, all items for a first truck/trailer canbe sorted and inducted from the main conveyor onto a first sorting lanethat feeds into a first portion of the mobile robot field. Whereas allitems for a second truck/trailer can be sorted and inducted from themain conveyor onto a second sorting lane that feeds into a secondportion of the mobile robot field.

In some embodiments, multiple sorting lanes can feed into a singleportion of the mobile robot field. Therefore, for example, all items fora first truck can be sorted and inducted from the main conveyor onto afirst sorting lane or a second sorting lane that both feed into a firstportion of the mobile robot field. Regardless of which sorting lane theitems are inducted into, the items will still be inducted into the firstportion of the mobile robot field that is associated with the firsttruck in this example. In some embodiments, no such portions of themobile robot field are designated.

Next, in step 420 (and as described above), items are inducted for thefirst truck into the first portion of the mobile robot field. Here, theitems for the first truck pass from the main conveyor to one or moresorting lanes that transport items to a location adjacent the firstportion of the mobile robot field, from where they are picked up by oneor more mobile robots and moved into the mobile robot field fortemporary storage. The mobile robot field can be divided into one ormore portions, wherein each portion includes at least one robot that isassigned to move items around that portion and/or to loading stationssurrounding the mobile robot field. In some embodiments, each portion ofthe mobile robot field can be associated with a particular truck and/ora particular store or other customer. In other embodiments, a particularportion of the mobile robot field can receive items that go to amultitude of trucks, stores, and/or other customers. The preferredarrangement and association of portions in the mobile robot field can bedetermined based on the particular needs of each implementing warehousefacility.

Still referring to FIG. 4, in step 430 the items associated with thefirst truck are accumulated in the first portion of the mobile robotfield until at least all of the items for a first cart of the firsttruck/trailer are located in the mobile robot field. Then a moregranular sort can be made to occur using the mobile robots.

In the example of FIG. 4, once the control system described throughoutthis disclosure determines that all the items assigned to the first cart(e.g., store-friendly transport vessel) are located in the first portionof the mobile robot field, those items can be sorted and sequenced forthe first cart. In some embodiments, each cart can be destined for astore aisle (or a portion thereof). In other embodiments, each cart canrepresent one or more individual customer orders.

In step 440, one or more mobile robots can be controlled to move ortransport, from the mobile robot field to a station for loading thefirst aisle-ready cart (or other type of item sub-set), all of the itemsassigned to the cart in a sequence that corresponds to the particularlocation assignments of the items on the cart. In some embodiments, aspreviously discussed, a robot and/or a human operator can load all ofthe items into the cart at the loading station in the correct sequence(and location on the cart). Likewise, the control system describedthroughout this disclosure can determine whether all of the itemsassigned to a second cart are in the mobile robot field and, in responseto determining that all of the items assigned to the second cart are inthe mobile robot field, cause one or more mobile robots to transport,from the mobile robot field to a station for loading the second cart,all of the items assigned to the second cart in a sequence thatcorresponds to the particular location assignments of the items in thesecond cart.

The control system(s) can determine the correct item sequence andinstruct/control each of the mobile robots to transport the items inaccordance with that sequence. The sequence that corresponds to theparticular location assignments of the items in a cart can correspond toan arrangement that one or more shelves in a store aisle or aisles willbe stocked. Any desired methodology for arranging items on the cart forefficient store shelf replenishment can be used. In one example, a cartcan be loaded in such a way that a bottom layer of items in the cart areassociated with a bottom shelf in a first aisle in the store. A toplayer of items in the cart can be associated with a top shelf in thefirst aisle in the store. Again, the method 400 can accommodate anydesired methodology. Moreover, the sequence that corresponds to theparticular location assignments of the items can further correspond to adirection from left to right or a direction from right to left that theone or more shelves in the store aisle will be stocked. This sequencingcan be made to match unloading of the items in the store aisle forefficient store replenishment.

In some embodiments, the mobile robots can transport the items directlyto the first cart. In other embodiments, the mobile robots can move theitems for the first cart in the correct sequence to a loading station aspreviously described. Once the items are received in the correctsequence at the loading station associated with the first truck, a humanoperator can load the first cart in the correct sequence in step 450.Alternatively, instead of the human operator, a robot can be configuredto load the first cart in the correct sequence at the loading station instep 450.

Finally, in step 460, the loaded first cart can be moved onto the firsttruck (e.g., particular semi-trailer). In some cases, the loaded firstcart can be moved by the human operator who loaded the first cart. Inother examples, the loaded first cart can be moved onto the first truckby one or more mobile robots. In yet other embodiments, the loaded firstcart can be placed on a conveyor or other mechanism that automaticallytransports the cart into the first truck/trailer.

In some embodiments, the control system previously described candetermine an appropriate loading sequence for all carts that will bemoved into the first truck/trailer. Such a loading sequence can bedetermined based on a store layout, a store aisle layout, or any otherdelivery information associated with customer orders and/or shipment(refer to FIG. 5). For example, the control system can determine thatcarts 1 through 10 are associated with aisles 1 through 10 in a storeand that the carts 1 through will be unloaded in the store in thatorder. As a result, in one example the carts can be loaded into thefirst truck/trailer in the reverse order (e.g., 10-1) such that thefirst cart is the first to be off the truck/trailer and unloaded inaisle 1 in the store. In some embodiments, the control system can firstdetermine a sequence of carts in the first truck/trailer. The system canthen determine an order that all the items associated with the firsttruck/trailer should be sorted and sequenced in the mobile robot fieldand loaded into their respective carts.

For example, if the system determines that a tenth cart should be thelast cart loaded into the truck because it will be the last cartunloaded in the store, then the system can determine that the tenth cartshould be the first cart loaded with items in the warehouse.Consequently, items associated with the first truck that are to besorted and sequenced into the tenth cart can be the first cart sortedand sequenced in the mobile robot field. This way, carts can be loadedin an efficient manner and carts will not be fully loaded or temporarilytaking up space in the warehouse as carts that need to be loaded ontothe truck first are being loaded with items or not yet loaded withitems.

Once the order fulfillment control system determines an appropriatesequence for all the carts in the first truck, the one or more mobilerobots and/or human operator(s) can be notified and instructed about howand when to load all of the carts into the first truck/trailer. It isimportant to note that the steps depicted in FIG. 4 can be performed amultitude of times for each truck/trailer as well as for each cartassociated with each truck. The steps depicted in FIG. 4 can also beperformed in different orders than that depicted or in parallel witheach other.

FIG. 5 is another flowchart of an example store replenishment cart levelorder sortation and sequencing process 500 in accordance with someembodiments. Process 500 is alternative flowchart depiction of theprocess 400 described in reference to FIG. 4. In the process 500, itemsare sorted to a truck-level in step 510 as previously described (referto FIG. 4). Next, in step 520, the items are stored in a mobile robotfield as previously described (refer to FIG. 4). While the items arestored in the mobile robot field, more granular sorts and sequences areperformed.

First, in sub-step 522, the items are sorted to a cart level. Aspreviously described throughout this disclosure, sorting to the cartlevel includes determining which items associated with a first truckshould be sorted for transport on a first cart versus a second cart,etc. Each cart can be associated with an aisle in a store (or associatedwith another criteria for defining sub-sets of items).

Second, in sub-step 524, the items are sequenced to a cart locationlevel. As previously described, sequencing to the cart location levelincludes determining a sequence for placing the items in the cart in aparticular arrangement that matches the arrangement of the items in theshelving of a store. For example, if the store aisle will be stockedfrom a top shelf to a bottom shelf, the items that will be stocked onthe bottom shelf can be placed at a bottom of the cart while the itemsthat will be stocked on the top shelf can be placed at a top of thecart. Further, more granular sequencing can be performed, such that ifthe items will be stocked from left to right on each shelf from the topshelf to the bottom shelf, then the items can be placed in the cart suchthat the items that will be stocked first on the top shelf will beplaced from left to right to match the way that the shelf will bestocked in the store.

Third, in sub-step 526, the cart is sequenced to a truck-level. Aspreviously described, the control system described throughout thisdisclosure can be configured to assign a plurality of carts (e.g.,aisle-ready carts, store-friendly transport vessels, etc.) to aparticular truck or semi-trailer. In this step, the control system candetermine a sequence for loading the plurality of carts into theparticular semi-trailer based on the sequence that the plurality ofcarts will be used at a store to which the items are destined, and/orbased on assigning each of the items to a particular location of aparticular cart wherein the particular location assignments of the itemsare further based on how the items will be arranged at the store towhich the items are destined. Moreover, the control system can determinea sequence for inducting the plurality of items into the mobile robotfield based on the particular location assignments of the items in theparticular cart and the sequence for loading the plurality of carts intothe particular semi-trailer.

The sequence for loading the plurality of carts into the particularsemi-trailer can correspond to the layout of a store. In one example,each cart can correspond to a store aisle. If a first aisle in the storeis the last aisle to be stocked, the cart for replenishing the firstaisle can be the last cart loaded into the truck/trailer. Consequently,items to be sorted and sequenced to the cart for the first aisle can bethe last items moved from the mobile robot field to a loading stationfor sorting and sequencing to the cart. As previously discussed,sequencing a cart to a truck-level in subs-step 526 can be performedbefore any of the other sub-steps 522 and 524 and/or in parallel withthese sub-steps.

In some embodiments, it may be preferred to sort the cart to thetruck-level first before determining sorts to the cart level andsequencing to the cart location level. Performing the sequence to thetruck-level first can be advantageous in situations where the warehousedoes not want any filled carts temporarily taking up space in thewarehouse while carts that should be loaded first into the truck are notyet being loaded. For example, once the cart is sorted to thetruck-level, the control system can induct the plurality of items intothe mobile robot field based on the sequence for loading the pluralityof carts into the particular semi-trailer (e.g., truck) and a sequencethat corresponds to the particular location assignments of the items ina particular cart. Sequencing to the truck-level first can also provideother advantages to the warehouse as discussed throughout thisdisclosure.

Once the granular sorts and sequences are determined in step 520, thecontrol system can determine whether all of the items assigned to afirst cart to be loaded into the particular semi-trailer or truck are inthe mobile robot field. In response to determining that all of the itemsassigned to the first cart to be loaded into the particular semi-trailerare in the mobile robot field, the control system can cause one or moremobile robots to transport, from the mobile robot field to a station forloading by a robot or by a human operator the first cart, all of theitems assigned to the first cart in the sequence that corresponds to theparticular location assignments of the items in the first cart. In otherwords, the cart can be loaded in step 530 in the sequence as determinedin sub-step 524 at the loading station (e.g., work station) discussedthroughout this disclosure. In response to determining that all of theitems assigned to the first cart are loaded into the first cart in thesequence that corresponds to the particular location assignments of theitems, the first cart can be loaded in step 540 into the particularsemi-trailer based on the sequence for loading the plurality of cartsinto the particular semi-trailer, as determined in sub-step 526.

Moving onto the next figure, FIG. 6 depicts another example storereplenishment cart level order sortation and sequencing system 600 inaccordance with some embodiments described herein. The system 600 isvariation of the system 300 as described in reference to FIG. 3.Referring to FIG. 6, the system 600 requires a smaller footprint in thewarehouse facility because the mobile robot field is built up verticallysuch that it includes two or more levels. That is, the warehousedepicted in FIG. 6 comprises one or more multilevel mobile robot fields.In some embodiments, this multilevel system 600 can have more than twolevels, depending on the needs, existing assets (e.g., sorting lanes,conveyors), and existing footprint of the warehouse facility.

In this example, a main conveyor 610 is elevated above both mobile robotfield levels in the system 600. One or more sorting lanes (e.g., sortinglane 620A and sorting lane 620N) can branch off the main conveyor 610and feed into one or more mobile robot fields (e.g., mobile robot field640A and mobile robot field 640N). In this example, the sorting lane620A feeds into the second level mobile robot field 640A. The sortinglane(s) can include a decline in elevation to feed into the mobile robotfield(s).

In some embodiments, items can be transported from the upper levelmobile robot field 640A to the floor level (e.g., to a workstation forloading a cart) on one or more spiral conveyors 630.

As described throughout this disclosure, a plurality of items can beinducted into the upper level mobile robot field 640A (e.g., a secondelevated mobile robot field). The control system described throughoutthis disclosure can then determine whether all of the items assigned toa first cart (e.g., store-friendly transport vessel) are in the upperlevel mobile robot field 640A. In response to determining that all ofthe items assigned to the first cart are in the upper level mobile robotfield 640A, the control system can cause one or more mobile robots totransport, from the upper level mobile robot field 640A to the spiralconveyor 630 associated with a station 650 for loading the first cart,all of the items assigned to the first cart in a sequence thatcorresponds to the particular location assignments of the items in thefirst cart (which in turn corresponds to a store shelf arrangement orother scheme).

In some embodiments, the control system previously described candetermine that all items associated with a particular truck should betransported to and stored in a particular portion in a particular levelmobile robot field. In other embodiments, all items associated with aparticular cart of the particular truck can be transported to and storedin a same portion in a particular level mobile robot field. In yet otherembodiments, it may be desirable to keep all the items associated withthe particular truck in no particular portion in either level mobilerobot field. Consequently, one or more robots can be configured by thecontrol system to transport all of the items assigned to a first cart ina sequence that corresponds to the particular location assignments ofthe item which further comprises transporting all of the items assignedto the first cart from one or more elevated mobile robot fields to thestation for loading (e.g., workstation, loading station).

In such situations, the order fulfillment control system can take intoconsideration different amounts of time that it would take to move itemsassociated with the particular truck from an upper level mobile robotfield to a loading station that will also receive items associated withthe particular truck from a lower level mobile robot field. Seeing thatthis added time may decrease efficiency, this embodiment may be lessdesirable. Therefore, a preferred embodiment includes having all itemsassociated with a particular truck or a particular cart associated withthe particular truck in a same portion on a same level mobile robotfield.

Various implementations of the systems and techniques described here canbe realized in digital electronic circuitry, integrated circuitry,specially designed ASICs (application specific integrated circuits),computer hardware, firmware, software, and/or combinations thereof.These various implementations can include implementation in one or morecomputer programs that are executable and/or interpretable on aprogrammable system including at least one programmable processor, whichmay be special or general purpose, coupled to receive data andinstructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a storagesystem, at least one input device, and at least one output device.

These computer programs (also known as programs, software, softwareapplications or code) include machine instructions for a programmableprocessor, and can be implemented in a high-level procedural and/orobject-oriented programming language, and/or in assembly/machinelanguage. As used herein, the terms machine-readable medium andcomputer-readable medium refer to any computer program product,apparatus and/or device (e.g., magnetic discs, optical disks, memory,Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs)) used to provide machine instructionsand/or data to a programmable processor, including a machine-readablemedium that receives machine instructions as a machine-readable signal.The term machine-readable signal refers to any signal used to providemachine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor.

To provide for interaction with a user, the systems and techniquesdescribed here can be implemented on a computer having a display device(e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor)for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointingdevice (e.g., a mouse, a trackball, or a touchscreen, etc.) by which theuser can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices can beused to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example,feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback (e.g.,visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback); and input fromthe user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech,tactile input, eye movement tracking input, a brain-computer interface,gesture input, and the like, and combinations thereof).

The systems and techniques described here can be implemented in acomputing system that includes a back end component (e.g., as a dataserver), or that includes a middleware component (e.g., an applicationserver), or that includes a front end component (e.g., a client computerhaving a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a usercan interact with an implementation of the systems and techniquesdescribed here), or any combination of such back end, middleware, orfront end components. The components of the system can be interconnectedby any form or medium of digital data communication (e.g., acommunication network). Examples of communication networks include alocal area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), and the Internet.

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

While this specification contains many specific embodiment details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anyinvention or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions offeatures that may be specific to particular embodiments of particularinventions. Certain features that are described in this specification inthe context of separate embodiments can also be implemented incombination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features thatare described in the context of a single embodiment can also beimplemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitablesubcombination. Moreover, although features may be described herein asacting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, oneor more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excisedfrom the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asubcombination or variation of a sub combination.

Particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described. Otherembodiments are within the scope of the following claims. For example,the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different orderand still achieve desirable results. While operations are depicted inthe drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood asrequiring that such operations be performed in the particular ordershown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations beperformed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances,multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, theseparation of various system modules and components in the embodimentsdescribed herein should not be understood as requiring such separationin all embodiments, and it should be understood that the describedprogram components and systems can generally be integrated together in asingle product or packaged into multiple products.

What is claimed is:
 1. An automated method for sorting saleable itemsinto a store aisle-ready arrangement, the method comprising: inducting aplurality of items into a first mobile robot field; assigning each ofthe items to a particular location of a particular store-friendlytransport vessel, wherein the particular location assignments of theitems are based on how the items will be arranged at a store to whichthe items are destined; determining whether all of the items assigned toa first store-friendly transport vessel are in the first mobile robotfield; and in response to determining that all of the items assigned tothe first store-friendly transport vessel are in the first mobile robotfield, causing one or more mobile robots to transport, from the firstmobile robot field to a station for loading by a robot or by a humanoperator the first store-friendly transport vessel, all of the itemsassigned to the first store-friendly transport vessel in a sequence thatcorresponds to the particular location assignments of the items.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: assigning a plurality ofstore-friendly transport vessels to a particular semi-trailer; anddetermining a sequence for loading the plurality of store-friendlytransport vessels into the particular semi-trailer based on how theplurality of items in the plurality of store-friendly transport vesselswill be arranged at a store to which the items are destined.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, further comprising determining a sequence forinducting the plurality of items into the first mobile robot field basedon the particular location assignments of the items in the particularstore-friendly transport vessel and the sequence for loading theplurality of store-friendly transport vessels into the particularsemi-trailer.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first mobile robotfield comprises two or more portions.
 5. The method of claim 4, whereina mobile robot is assigned to a particular portion of the first mobilerobot field.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of items isinducted into the first mobile robot field by a conveyor of thewarehouse that is reconfigured to feed into a particular portion of thefirst mobile robot field.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein all of theitems assigned to the first store-friendly transport vessel are locatedin a first portion of the first mobile robot field and all of the itemsassigned to a second store-friendly transport vessel are located in asecond portion of the first mobile robot field that differs from thefirst portion of the first mobile robot field.
 8. The method of claim 1,further comprising: determining whether all of the items assigned to asecond store-friendly transport vessel are in the first mobile robotfield; and in response to determining that all of the items assigned tothe second store-friendly transport vessel are in the first mobile robotfield, causing one or more mobile robots to transport, from the firstmobile robot field to a station for loading by a robot or by a humanoperator the second store-friendly transport vessel, all of the itemsassigned to the second store-friendly transport vessel in a sequencethat corresponds to the particular location assignments of the items. 9.The method of claim 1, wherein the sequence that corresponds to theparticular location assignments of the items further corresponds to anorder that one or more shelves in a store aisle will be stocked.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the sequence that corresponds to theparticular location assignments of the items further corresponds to atleast one of a direction from left to right and a direction from rightto left that the one or more shelves in the store aisle will be stocked.11. The method of claim 1, wherein the warehouse comprises one or moremulti-level mobile robot fields.
 12. The method of claim 11, whereincausing one or more mobile robots to transport all of the items assignedto the first store-friendly transport vessel in a sequence thatcorresponds to the particular location assignments of the items furthercomprises transporting all of the items assigned to the firststore-friendly transport vessel from the one or more multi-level mobilerobot fields to the station for loading.
 13. The method of claim 11,further comprising: inducting the plurality of items into a secondmulti-level mobile robot field; determining whether all of the itemsassigned to the first store-friendly transport vessel are in the secondelevated multi-level robot field; and in response to determining thatall of the items assigned to the first store-friendly transport vesselare in the second multi-level mobile robot field, causing one or moremobile robots to transport, from the second multi-level mobile robotfield to a spiral conveyor, all of the items assigned to the firststore-friendly transport vessel in a sequence that corresponds to theparticular location assignments of the items.
 14. A system for sortingsaleable items into a store aisle-ready arrangement, the systemcomprising: a first mobile robot field; a conveyor of a warehouse thatis configured to feed items into the first mobile robot field; one ormore mobile robots configured to perform tasks in the first mobile robotfield; and a control system configured to: induct a plurality of itemsinto the first mobile robot field; assign each of the items to aparticular location of a particular store-friendly transport vessel,wherein the particular location assignments of the items are based onhow the items will be arranged at a store to which the items aredestined; determine whether all of the items assigned to a firststore-friendly transport vessel are in the first mobile robot field; andin response to determining that all of the items assigned to the firststore-friendly transport vessel are in the first mobile robot field,causing one or more mobile robots to transport from the first mobilerobot field to a station for loading by a robot or by a human operatorthe first store-friendly transport vessel, all of the items assigned tothe first store-friendly transport vessel in a sequence that correspondsto the particular location assignments of the items.
 15. The system ofclaim 14, wherein the first mobile robot field comprises two or moreportions.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein a mobile robot is assignedto a particular portion of the first mobile robot field.
 17. The systemof claim 14, wherein the first mobile robot field is a multilevel robotfield.
 18. An automated method for sorting saleable items into a storeaisle-ready arrangement, the method comprising: assigning a plurality ofstore-friendly transport vessels to a particular semi-trailer;determining a sequence for loading the plurality of store-friendlytransport vessels into the particular semi-trailer based on assigningeach of a plurality of items to a particular location of a particularstore-friendly transport vessel, wherein the particular locationassignments of the items are based on how the items will be arranged atthe store to which the items are destined; inducting the plurality ofitems into a first mobile robot field based on the particular locationassignments of the items in the particular store-friendly transportvehicle and the sequence for loading the plurality of store-friendlyvessels into the particular semi-trailer; determining whether all of theitems assigned to a first store-friendly transport vessel to be loadedinto the particular semi-trailer are in the first mobile robot field; inresponse to determining that all of the items assigned to the firststore-friendly transport vessel to be loaded into the particularsemi-trailer are in the first mobile robot field, causing one or moremobile robots to transport, from the first mobile robot field to astation for loading by a robot or by a human operator the firststore-friendly transport vessel, all of the items assigned to the firststore-friendly transport vessel in the sequence that corresponds to theparticular location assignments of the items; and in response todetermining that all of the items assigned to the first store-friendlytransport vessel are loaded into the first store-friendly transportvessel in the sequence that corresponds to the particular locationassignments of the items, loading the first store-friendly transportvessel into the particular semi-trailer based on the sequence forloading the plurality of store-friendly transport vessels into theparticular semi-trailer.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein each of theplurality of store-friendly transport vessels corresponds to an aisle inthe store.
 20. The method of 19, wherein the sequence for loading theplurality of store-friendly transport vessels into the particularsemi-trailer further corresponds to an order that each aisle in thestore will be stocked.